Evolution Of Darth Vader, The - SW [DV/ROTS] - Exclusives

Name: Evolution Of Darth Vader, TheCollection: Star Wars [Darth Vader/Revenge Of The Sith]Number: N/ASource: The Phantom Menace/Attack Of The Clones/Revenge Of The Sith/Return Of The JediAvailability: November 2013 (Online Retail Exclusive)License: Hasbro

Relive the evolution of Darth Vader from his Jedi beginnings to his fall to the dark side. As a padawan, young Anakin Skywalker learns the ways of the Force from his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the Clone Wars, he is a Jedi General and hero of the Republic. Then tragedy strikes as he falls to the dark side to become the villainous Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Re-re-create the exciting adventures and fateful events of this amazing character who changed the destiny of an entire galaxy!

Let’s just get it out right away. Hasbro. We do NOT need anymore Anakin Skywalker multipacks.... and we can go years without needing a basic Anakin Skywalker figure either. On paper, The Evolution Of Darth Vader exclusive four pack of figures should have been good. But with the recent history we all lived, it’s more than fair to say that Anakin Skywalker has been released with overkill status. Packaged in the Star Wars [Darth Vader/Revenge Of The Sith] line look, this set brings us four collector-focused figures, 75% of which have been released singly in The Vintage Collection, and the remaining figure released countless times in other line looks in the past. You would think a multipack would imply “deal”, but all you’re really doing here is paying $10 per figure times four all at once. Obviously this is no deal, but what’s wore is that there will likely be little to no interest for this set as collectors have bought these figures multiple times already. We worry that Hasbro will find some way to pass blame onto collectors for the failure of this set. They like to blame us when things don’t perform well. But we won’t accept blame this time. Again, there is really no reason to buy this set if you’ve kept up to date. It’s frustrating and we don’t why Hasbro won’t think outside of the box.

Anakin Skywalker (Young Padawan) is a repaint of 2012’s TVC Anakin Skywalker (VC80) figure. You can probably still find this figure on the shelves as of the publishing of this review, so why in the world would Hasbro release another Episode I character that was partially responsible for one of the greatest bottlenecking debacles of the modern era? We have no clue whatsoever. This time the figure comes without many of the original accessories and some of the deco has been changed, perhaps in an effort to make things more screen accurate, or just because the factory got sloppy. We’re too lazy to find out the exact reason. Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Apprentice) may be a little bit more interesting. It too is a repaint of the Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero) figure from 2005’s ROTS Anakin Skywalker To Darth Vader Evolutions set, but the paint job on the portrait is so unique, it almost looks like a new head sculpt. It’s so different it almost confuses us. What we don’t understand is, why would Hasbro release this figure again. They just released an updated Episode II Anakin Skywalker action figure, The Black SeriesAnakin Skywalker (#03) figure with updated deco and parts. This version is obsolete and updated, so it should be retired. We almost would have rather had the new The Black Series figures added in this set. It’s perplexing to say the least!

The best figure in this set is the reissue of 2010’s TVC Darth Vader [Anakin Skywalker] (VC13) figure. It has been repainted as well and now sports a lighter skin tone and some different brown painted details here and there. In all fairness, this may have been one of the most underrated action figures in the entire The Vintage Collection. It is honestly very nice to see it get another chance in this four-pack. We almost have to scoff at the fact that Hasbro has decided to go back to calling him Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero) for this set. When was the last time you saw a Jedi Knight with Sith eyes? Hasbro totally should have taken this opportunity to repaint the eyes with his normal blue eye color and give us a “new figure” for this set. But they didn’t. This is technically “Darth Vader” and not Anakin Skywalker. We hope and pray however Hasbro doesn’t plan to do a running change on the packaging to fix the name. That would be madness. Darth Vader (Sith Lord) is the final figure in this exclusive multipack. Just like the others, he has also received an updated paint job, and his base figure is 2010’s TVC Darth Vader (VC08). Remember that weird white smudge running across his chin? Well, that has been removed with this release. It looks much better. Besides all of the paint job updates, there really is not other reason to consider this set. Unless you find it cheaply, it just isn’t worth it.

Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Apprentice)

Status: Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Apprentice) is a repaint of the Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero) figure from 2005's ROTS Anakin Skywalker To Darth Vader Evolutions set. This time the figure has been repainted. (The figure has been released countless times since the 2005 ROTS Evolutions release.)

Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero)

Status: Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Hero) is a repaint of 2010s TVC Darth Vader [Anakin Skywalker] (VC13) figure. (Uh-oh Hasbro – you better reissue this set with a corrected name change. This is Darth Vader and not Anakin Skywalker. Sarcasm.)